Ms. codex

Title supplied by cataloguer

Probably written in Mexico in the 18th century

This catechism includes some Spanish glosses and it is possible that this Testerian catechism was prepared for Nahuatl speakers

Manuscript catechism in Testerian hieroglyphs written on watermarked European paper

In the early period of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, before religious instructors had learned the languages of the indigenous peoples, they used pictorial stories describing basic teachings to spread the Christian Gospel. These catechisms were called Testerians, after Father Jacobo de Testera, a Franciscan priest who pioneered this method of teaching

Hieroglyphs are written recto and verso of all leaves except for the verso of leaf [20] which is blank

John Carter Brown Library copy imperfect: wanting [2] leaves at the very beginning and [2] at end; although most hieroglyphs have not faded, the foredge of most leaves is ragged, and use should be restricted to facsimile copy catalogued under shelfmark: facsim. 1-SIZE Codex Ind 25

John Carter Brown Library copy is sewn into tanned hide wrappers and housed in red cloth box measuring 13 cm. high

John Carter Brown has bibliographic material on Testerian Catechisms housed in JCB bibliographical file

Provenance of the John Carter Brown Library copy: James Constantine Pilling: former owner according to JCB Catalogue of manuscript codices

plus-circle Add Review

comment

Reviews